Montana Elk · Hunting District 281
Montana Hunting District 281 covers 242,627 acres and lies 46 miles north of Deer Lodge. 75% of it is public land, mostly national forest (60%) and state trust land (7%). In 2025, hunters took 77 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 281-01, put up 2 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 6 nonresident first-choice applicants.
2 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
60% Forest Service
242,627 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Hunting District 281
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 281-01 Standard | Elk B License 281-01 — Antlerless Elk | 1% (small sample) | — | |
| 281-01 Landowner | Elk B License 281-01 — Antlerless Elk | 100% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: 281-00, 281-80.
Draw results: Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License Drawing Statistics Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $92.50 ($92.50 to apply) · Landowner $92.50 ($92.50 to apply). Open Mar 1 – Apr 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Elk |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 77 |
| 2024 | 83 |
| 2023 | 79 |
| 2022 | 102 |
2025 split: nonresidents 22, residents 55
What Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Hunter counts not published for 2025. Montana's figures blend mandatory reporting with a phone and mail survey. FWP does not publish district-level hunter counts for elk or antelope, so success rates are missing for those. Source: Montana FWP 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates; Montana FWP 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates; Montana FWP 2023 Elk Harvest Estimates.
The Ground
| National Forest | 145,964 ac | 60% |
| Private | 60,584 ac | 25% |
| State trust land | 16,134 ac | 7% |
| BLM | 12,277 ac | 5% |
| State land | 6,720 ac | 3% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 606 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 0 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 0 ac | <1% |
| Tribal | 0 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 0 ac | <1% |
Source: Montana FWP 2026-2027 Deer Elk Lion Hunting District….
What the Agency Says About the Area
Elk Management Unit: Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex
▸ Sources 11
- Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License Drawing Statistics Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana Legislature 2026 MCA 87-2-113 Application fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana Legislature 2026 MCA 87-2-116 Base hunting license… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Hunting Requirements fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Nonresident License Fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2023 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2022 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Deer and Elk Hunting Districts boundary, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026-2027 Deer Elk Lion Hunting District… land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Montana elk hunts